Jewel setting machine



May 8, 1956 P. B. MONTAGUE 2,744,250

JEWEL SETTING MACHINE Filed June 15. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Www/w Jy diz/ggf May 8 l956 P. B. MONTAGUE JEWEL SETTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 13, 1955 United States Patent() JEWEL SETTING MACHINE Paul vButler' Montague, Melrose,.Mass., assignor to The Standard Rivet Company, South Boston, Mass., a corporation of New Hampshire Application June 13, 1955, Serial No. 514,868

6 Claims. (Cl. 1 3) Thisinvention relates to apparatus for setting ornamental jewels on leather, fabric or similar sheet material by means of a spot or a staple adapted to be secured to material so as to hold the jewel or other ornament to the material.

In United States Patent 2,631,281 there is shown a jewel setting machine wherein the jewel is fed laterally to 4av throat against which the sheet material is clamped and through which the spot or staple is driven over the jewel. While the patented machine was found to be successful at moderate speeds, at high speeds trouble was encountered in feeding the jewel to the throat. The inertia ofthe jewel feeding slide whichv delivered the jewel edgewise to they throat made it difficult to retract the slide after the jewel was delivered and before the spot or staple was driven through thev throat, it being necessary'to move the slide into the path of the staple to deliver vthe jewel to stapling position, and then retract the slide quickly before the immediately succeeding stapledriving operation. In addition, ditliculty was encountered in chipping a waiting or following jewel while the foremost jewel was being delivered to stapling position by the slide.

According to the present invention the improved apparatus comprises means for supporting sheet material at a stapling position, means for feeding a jewel edgewise to the stapling position, a plunger for driving the lstaple over the jewel and through the material, and a .drive member for actuating the plunger soas to drive the plunger; through the stapling position and thereby staple the jewel to the material, the apparatus being particularly characterized by a yielding linkage connected betweenthe plunger drive member and the jewel feeding means, Vthe linkagebeing arranged so as to cause the feed means to deliver the jewel to stapling position in advance of the stapling operation, and the linkage being suliiciently resilientto. yield to the force of the plunger during the stapling operation. Preferably the apparatus is provided witha vstop for larresting the jewel feed means short of the path of the plunger, but in the path of the staple, so that as the staple is driven over the jewel it transmits force from the plunger to the slide causing the aforesaid linkage to yield and urge the slide out of the path of the staple. The stop further arrests the feeding means abruptly by virtue of the yelding linkage so that the jewel is irnpelled into staplingposition of the feeding means.

More specifically the jewel feeding means comprises a track for guiding the jewel to stapling position, the track being slightly wider than the jewel, and a slide moving through the track for pushing the jewel, the slide being substantially narrower than the track and the jewel. The jewels are fed through a chute connecting laterally with the. guide track by gravity and as the foremost jewel which has been delivered from the chute to the track, is moved by the slide to stapling position, the following jewel tends to, move into the track before the slide has passed the chute and may therefore be chipped during feeding.

However, according to the present invention the slideend, being of lesser diameter than the jewel cannot strike'. the suceeding jewel edgewise and chip it. Morespecilically the slide end is indented or notched so as to assist in positioning the jewel being fed at the center of the guide track, and theends of the slide are provided with a cam surface adapted to be struck by the staple and cause retraction of the slide as mentioned above.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section showing a jewel stapled to sheet material;

Figs. 3'and 4 are fragmentary elevations of the apparatus showing two stages in the setting operation;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation, parts being broken away;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 7 is a plan View of the jewel feeding mechanism;

Fig. .8 is a schematic section showing the end of the jewel feeding slide;

Fig'. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig, 7; and

Fig. 10 is a schematic view of the jewel feeding mechanisrn, parts being omitted.

Fig. 2 illustrates a way in which a glass jewel l is secured by a staple S on a sheet of leather L. The jewel I has a shoulder H adapted to be engaged by the crown C of the staple S. The staple has two prongs P which are driven through the leather and crimped on the opposite side lfrom the jewel so as to clamp the staple and jewel tothe leather.

The ,apparatus shown vin Fig. l comprises a framework l'carrying a vertically reciprocating anvil 2, a hopper or chute 3 for holding a supply of staples, a staple guiding throat 4,- a plunger 6 for driving a staple through the throat 4, a hopper or chute 7 holding a supply of jewels, a jewelv feed track S and a slide 8 for feeding jewels from the chute '7 to the throat 4.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 3 to 7 the staple chute 3 terminates above the throat 4 while the jewel chute 7 enters the guideway 5 laterally opposite the lower end of the throat 4. rlhe spots or staples S after leaving the staple chute 3 lodge in a gate 15 disclosed in'greater detail yin the above mentioned patent. The .staples are held in the gate 1S until the plunger 6 descends to drive them through the throat 4.

The jewel chute 7 delivers the jewels singly upon-the bed 51 of the guideway 5, between two walls 52. Cover plates 71 on the jewel chute 7 supported by collars 72 on a baseplate 73 engage the apex of the jewel] and guide it centrally of the baseplate 73. Similarly coverplates 54 onthe guideway 5 engage the apex of the jewel I to guide it centrally between the walls 52. Guide walls 53 of reduced width guide the slide 8 which is held down by the coverplates 54,

As shown in Fig. l() the width of the guideway betweenr the walls 52 is slightly greater than the diameter of the jewel l, while the width of the slide 8 guided between the walls 53 is less than the diameter of the jewel. Consequently as the leading jewel I is rncved from its position shown in Fig. 7 to the position shown in Fig. l0, and the waiting jewel l moves down into the guideway, the leading jewel l will support the waiting jewel I' to one side of the leading edge 81 of the jewel slide 8, so that the corner at theV end of the leading edge 81 cannot chip the waiting jewel l as the slide moves past it. For example if a jewel of 7/16 inch diameter is used the guideway between the walls 52 is approximately 9/16 inch in width while the slide is 3/8 inch in width.

As shown in Fig. 7 jewel feed assembly comprises-1a detachable -unit which may be replaced by otherrunits.

with slides and guideways of different sizes in the event that larger or smaller jewels are to be used. Similarly the staple and jewel slides may be replaced as necessary.

The plunger 6 which is guided in suitable bearings 61 on the main frame 1 is reciprocated by a lever 62 pivoted at 63 at the top of the frame 1. At the rear of the frame 1 is a journal 64 for a drive shaft 66. The drive shaft 66 carries two eccentric wheels 67 and 68. A collar 69 enclosing the periphery of the eccentric 68 is connected by a rod 71 to the lever 62. Similarly the eccentric wheel 67 is connected through a yielding linkage 72 to a lever 73 pivoted at 74 on the main frame for reciprocating the anvil 2. Between the plunger lever 62 and the slide 8 is a linkage comprising a shaft 81 pivotally attached at 82 to a bellcrank 83 which is pivoted at 84 on the frame 1. The upper end of the rod 81 is guided in a pivot block 86 on the lever 62. A very light spring 87 is compressed between the pivot block 86 and a block 88 at the lower end of the shaft 81 such that motion of the lever is transmitted through the spring to the block 8S and thence to the shaft 81 to the bellcrank 84. A toggle link 89 connects the bellcrank 83 to a boss 91 attached to the slide 8. The boss 91 is provided with a shoulder 92 adapted to engage a stop 93 mounted above the guideway 5 in the path of the boss.

The general operation of the stapling apparatus is as follows. With the anvil 2 down as shown in Figs. l and 3 a sheet of leather or other sheet materials L is laid above the anvil and the shaft 26 is caused to rotate by suitable manual, pedal or automatic control. First the anvil eccentric 67 through the yielding linkage 72 and arm 73 raises the anvil 2 against the bottom of the throat 4 and owing to the resilient nature of the link 72 yieldingly holds the leather against the bottom of the throat. As the shaft is further rotated the eccentric wheel 68 causes the lever 62 to rock and drive the plunger 6 down through the gate driving the spot or staple S through the throat 4. As the plunger descends the very light yielding linkage comprising the spring 87, shaft 81, bellcrank 83 and toggle length 89 urges the slide 8 toward the throat 4. The above mentioned slide linkage is adjusted so that the forward edge 81 of the slide 8 delivers the jewel to the throat 4 before the plunger 6 has driven the staple S through the throat.

To aid in centering the jewel I between the guide plates 54 the forward end of the slide 81 is also provided with a notch 85. The lower end of the throat is cut away at 41 to provide an entrance for the jewel and the lowest point in the throat is slightly below the bed 51 so that the jewel drops off the bed S1 onto the leather L held by the anvil 2 against the lower end of the throat. As the slide is driven along between the guide walls 53 the forward shoulder 92 of the boss 91 strikes the stop 93 just as the jewel and end 81 of the slide 8 enters the throat 4. After the slide is stopped the jewel continues into the throat by momentum imparted by the slide. Consequently the jewel is impelled against the opposite side of the throat from the entrance 41 thus insuring that it will enter fully into the path of the staple S and prevented from rebounding out of the path of the staple S. It will be understood that since the stample must surround the jewel J, the jewel I must be of lesser diameter than the inside diameter of the throat 4. The forward end 81 of the slide 8, which is held in the path of the staple S but not in the path of the plunger, is provided at its leading edge 81 with a cam surface shown most clearly in Fig. 8. This cam surface 81 is adapted to be engaged by the staple S as shown in Fig. 8 thereby to cam the slide 8 rearwardly against the light pressure of the spring 87. By stopping the slide 8 with its cam surface 81 in the path of the staple S, and providing the light yielding linkage including spring 87 it becomes unnecessary to use a very close timing between the movements of the plunger 6 and the slide 8 as was the case with the prior art. Also as mentioned above the reduced width of the slide 8 with respect to the diameter of the jewel J obviates the chipping of the Waiting jewel as the leading jewel is fed to the throat.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is for the purposes of illustration only and that the present invention includes all the modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. For stapling a jewel to sheet material, apparatus comprising means for supporting the material at a stapling position, means for feeding :t jewel to said position, a plunger guided on a path to said position for driving a staple over said jewel and through said material, a drive member connected to said plunger for driving said plunger to said position thereby stapling the jewel to the material, a yielding linkage connected between said drive member and feeding means, and a stop for `arresting the jewel feeding means short of the path of said plunger, said linkage being arranged to cause said feed means to deliver the jewel to said stapling position in advance of stapling and said linkage being arranged to yield to the force of the plunger transmitted through a staple to the feeding means after said feeding means is arrested and while said member moves said plunger to stapling position.

2. For stapling a jewel to sheet material, apparatus comprising means for supporting the material at a stapling position, means for feeding a jewel to said position, a plunger guided on a path to said position for driving a staple over said jewel and through said material, a drive member connected to said plunger for driving said plunger to said position thereby stapling the jewel to the material, a yielding linkage connected between said drive member and feeding means, and a stop for arresting the jewel feeding means thereby to stop the feeding means short of the path of said plunger so that the jewel thereafter moves to stapling position by momentum imparted by the slide, said linkage being arranged to cause said feed means to deliver the jewel to said stapling position in advance of stapling and said linkage being arranged to yield to the force of the plunger transmitted through a staple to the feeding means after said feeding means is arrested and while said member moves said plunger to stapling position.

3. For stapling a jewel to sheet material, apparatus comprising means for supporting the material at a stapling position, a slide having an end for engaging and feeding a jewel to said position, a plunger guided on a path to said position for driving a staple along a path to said position, over said jewel and through said material, a drive member connected to said plunger for driving said plunger to said position thereby stapling the jewel to the material, a yielding linkage connected between said drive member and feeding means, and a stop for arresting the slide so that the jewel thereafter moves to stapling position by momentum imparted by the slide, said linkage being arranged to cause said feed means to deliver the jewel to said stapling position in advance of stapling and said linkage being arranged to yield after said feeding means is arrested and while said member moves said plunger to stapling position, said slide end having a cam surface for engagement with the staple and said stop being located so as to arrest the slide short of the path of the plunger but in the path of the staple, whereby the slide holds the jewel in the path of the staple and retracts when the staple is driven over the jewel.

4. For stapling a jewel to sheet material, apparatus comprising means for supporting the material at a stapling position, means for feeding a jewel to said position, a plunger guided on a path to said position for driving a staple over said jewel and through said material, a drive member connected to said plunger for driving said plunger to said position thereby stapling the jewel to the material, a yielding linkage connected between said drive member and feeding means, and a stop for arresting the jewel feeding meanS Short of the path of said plunger so that the jewel thereafter moves into stapling position by momentum imparted by the slide.

5. For attaching a jewel to sheet material with a staple of greater diameter than the ornament, apparatus comprising means for supporting the material at a stapling position, a slide having an end engaging and feeding a jewel to said position, a plunger for driving a staple along a path to said position, over said jewel and thro-ugh said material, a drive member connected to said plunger for driving said plunger to said position thereby stapling the jewel to the material, a yielding linkage connected between said drive member and slide, and a stop for arresting the slide with said jewel in the path of said staple, said linkage being arranged to cause said slide to deliver the jewel to said stapling position in advance of stapling, said slide end having a camming surface in the path of said staple, and said linkage being suiliciently resilient to yield to the force of the staple driven by said plunger thereby to cam the slide end out of the path of the staple.

6, For stapling a jewel to sheet material, apparatus comprising means for supporting the material at a stapling position, a jewel guide track approaching said position, a chute for feeding a series of jewels to said track and having an entry into said track, means on the track for holding the foremost jewel substantially in the center of the track, the foremost jewel supporting a following jewel at said chute entry, and a slide movable through said track for feeding the foremost jewel to stapling position, said slide having a transverse dimension at its leading end less than the diameter of the jewel so that as therforemost jewel is moved from its support position it allows the following jewel to move from said entry into the track and the following jewel to fall on the lateral edge of said slide behind said leading end.

No references cited. 

